Durbin: ‘Struggle Is Still On’ In Senate To Pass Budget Bill (VIDEO)

AP

By

December 15, 2013 8:33 am

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) on Sunday said that the vote on the budget deal in the Senate could be close.

“The struggle is still on in the United States Senate. We’ll need about eight Republicans to come our way,” he said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “I feel we’ll have a good, strong showing from the Democratic side. But we need bipartisan support to pass it.”

He said that Republicans looking to be President or who are facing primary challenges from Tea Party candidates in 2014 could be the toughest to persuade.

“A handful of members of the Senate are vying for the Presidency in years to come and thinking about this vote in that context,” Durbin said. “And others are frankly afraid of this new force, the Tea Party force, the Heritage Foundation force that is threatening 7 out of 12 Republican Senators running for re-election.”